Of course it isn't illegal—ever since we joined the European Union, there hasn't been any real regulation regarding premium pricing.
There’s a premium calculator online, and based on those terms—say, a mid-sized sedan, 75-85 horsepower, with a 50% discount—it comes out to about $250 or so. So, yeah, like I said, I don't really see a difference here.
First off, I'm not female. Second, I don't work for Ivica Todorić (luckily or unluckily, depending on how you look at it)—I work in finance. My job requires me to know as much as possible about the current and future operations of companies like Walmart to protect my employer's interests, which, by extension, protects my own paycheck.
Furthermore, just like I thought, you haven't provided any concrete proof that Walmart is funneling donations to the two major political parties in America. Personally, I don't see any reason why they would bother, unless their goal is to win a contract for supplying the Congressional cafeteria. On another note, Walmart definitely exploits every incentive available to them, so I'll give you that one. Is it illegal? No. Is it unethical? Not really. If Mercedes-Benz wanted to build a factory in the States, wouldn't they expect tax breaks to attract that investment? If so, why wouldn't we offer the same to a domestic investor?
As for Starbucks, I have no idea who they source from or why they're—according to your info—130% more expensive here than in Austria (and notice you can't even calculate the percentage correctly). I offered one logical explanation that doesn't mention Todorić's charity at all as a reason for preferring Franck over Starbucks; it was strictly about Todorić's bottom line. You just don't want to accept that, which is your right.
What I don't get is why you're bringing up credit rating agencies. I'm talking about the auditing firms that review financial statements and issue opinions on whether they comply with IFRS. As far as I know, Walmart and its subsidiaries have never received a negative audit opinion. It seems to me you're confusing auditing firms with credit rating agencies.
Do you actually have proof that he's donating money to those two political parties? If you do, please just lay it out.
Negotiating power matters—it really does. That’s a huge reason why Walmart ended up in the mess it's in today. When you walk into a store as an individual just trying to pick up an iPhone, here’s what it’s going to cost you— $1667If some local electronics shop rolls up to a Congressman’s office to buy 100 iPhones—maybe they get them at a price of 3... $0.00If a distributor rolls up to a major wholesaler to pick up 10,000 iPhones—maybe they're looking at a massive bulk deal—they’d probably walk away with a price point around $2... or something like that. I guess. $0.00If AT&T rolled up to an Apple factory and demanded 5 million iPhones—they'd probably get them for a buck. $0.00Look, if you actually own a factory and need over 100 million iPhones—then yeah, that device is going to cost you. $133 I guess it’s just because the raw materials alone for a device like that are so expensive—not even counting what they spent on R&D.
So, compare that to someone like me—someone just trying to pick up a single iPhone without getting ripped off by the price tag. $1667Look, just compare that to a giant like AT&T—they’re dropping millions on hardware every single month. You still think bargaining power doesn't matter? I guess. The prices I mentioned are just rough estimates, but that's how the game works—something you probably already know from dealing with things in your own daily life. It all boils down to economies of scale.
The financial statements for Walmart and its parent company, Walmart, aren't being verified by some government department—they're audited by the Big 4. These firms audit massive global corporations, way bigger than Walmart, and they certainly have zero interest in tanking their reputation over a local player like this. Besides, I don't see any reason why Ivica Todorić would intentionally report worse numbers. His entire credit rating depends on those results—which directly dictates the interest rates he pays on his debt. Good results mean lower interest—more cash in his pocket. Bad results mean lost trust—credit dries up—growth stalls—total collapse. I just don't see why Walmart would want to show poor performance. Honestly, I think guys like Sarah Ruiz42 and whatever opinion they hold are a pretty low priority compared to the banks and investors funding all these expansions and acquisitions.
Look, I didn't say Ivica Todorić was living on the edge—I just meant that his company's success is pretty questionable at best. It all depends on a lot of moving parts—especially the stability of the region where they actually operate.
Your Starbucks coffee example covers just one product out of thousands. Maybe he’ll slap a 20% markup on it—he probably just wants people buying Starbucks because he can snag better terms, bigger rebates, and constant promos there. It's just his business strategy—at the end of the day, if you want your Starbucks, go buy it somewhere else.
You have no way of knowing what the margins look like at Walmart versus Metro. Metro is a massive operation pulling in $32 billion annually. Walmart is doing about $1.5 billion.
Can you see the difference in bargaining power there?
Besides, Walmart's profit margin isn't some 20% windfall—it's measured in fractions of a percent. You can easily verify that in the financial statements. You can also read that Ivica Todorić isn't raking in astronomical sums considering the size of the company he runs, and honestly, he’s probably hovering right on the edge of survival.
But looking at the rest of your post—your ideas about the government setting margins and your apparent lack of awareness that we already have quality control agencies—I'm not sure how much opening up the financial statements would actually help you.
Hey everyone, I’ve got a bit of a tough one here. I can usually hold my own with the Office suite, but this is a step above my skill level.
Here’s what I’m trying to pull off: I have this Word document that stays pretty much the same every time—only specific words or numbers change.
For example: AT&T saw 12% higher revenue in 2011 than in 2010.
The bolded part is the only thing that actually changes in this Word doc.
That bolded part—that specific number—is something I currently just type in manually from my Excel spreadsheets. That value is always in the exact same spot in those files, say, cell F12. Can I somehow upload that Excel sheet into Word, or maybe get Word to just grab the data from cell F12 and drop it right into that bolded spot?
Benjamin King2, is there actually a reason this drive is priced so much lower than others with the same capacity? Or am I looking at a genuine steal here? A few years back, I managed to snag a 1TB drive for about this much...
It doesn't really matter, honestly—nothing guarantees what happens down the road. The current price just hints at how much someone might have succeeded in the past.
Looks like the competition in the gold buyback market is finally stepping up. They’re offering around 90% of the spot price—which, honestly, is unheard of around here.
If only we could actually buy gold with just a 10% premium over spot...
Not really, but I know a buddy of mine used to play it like that—back in the day, maybe three years ago. He’d watch the game and have everything lined up so he was just one click away from placing his bet.
Then goals start dropping and he's still trying to deposit the exact same amounts before the sportsbook freezes the odds. He says he pulls it off about once every three times, especially if a goal comes out of nowhere.
It’s not $2.50, maybe $2.75—but if you grab the 5 lb tub, it drops to about $1.00 a pound. Honestly, I don't care what flavor it is—the fact that it’s unflavored and lacks all those extra sweeteners is actually a huge plus for me.
Go ahead and keep sipping those branded blends if that's your thing. Just a heads up—if you buy from an importer, a 5 lb bag of 100% pure isolate from GNC goes for about $113.
So, if you really want "high quality," just get this stuff. At least then you won't be guessing how much actual isolate is in there.
I don't know how to make that any simpler for you.
Regulations in the EU are way stricter than what we deal with here—and honestly, maybe 20 times more intense than in the US, where brands like Optimum Nutrition and the rest actually manufacture their stuff.
As for the price, you're just being difficult. You need to decide if you're looking at retail store prices or the gray market. Either way, Myprotein comes out ahead.
If you go through a guy bringing stuff in, it looks like this:
2.5 kilos of Impact Whey - $83
2.28 kg of Optimum Nutrition - 330-$117
The difference is massive.
And since you’re already complaining about protein quality, you might want to mention that Optimum Nutrition, Dymatize, and those other guys using a blend of concentrate, isolate, and hydrolysate—they never disclose the actual ratio of those proteins (supposedly a business secret 😂). So, it wouldn't be surprising if they tossed in a single grain of isolate and marketed the whole thing as a "premium" product. There's nothing anyone can do about it.
Hold on a second. Why the lies? Myprotein has standard labeling just like any other product—plus they actually submit their stuff to independent labs for testing. Around here, you're looking at about $153 for Dymatize or Muscletech at the local shops. If you’re buying in Canada, you’ll pay $110, while Myprotein runs about $73.
And that supposedly top-tier Dymatize with its fancy "labeling"—independent studies show it performs almost like a gainer. We're talking maybe 60% protein per tub (with only 1% being isolate). Not to mention most of that protein is likely soy-based. Here's the proof,
It seems you're still in that phase where you think drinking whey is going to turn you into a bodybuilder—especially if you're sticking to those "premium, branded" names. I know it doesn't mean much to you, but you're living in a fantasy.
If concentrate is even a buck cheaper than those "blends," people should probably just be told the truth—they aren't getting any extra muscle from it anyway. Might as well save that dollar.
You’re answering whatever question you feel like answering instead of what I actually asked. 😕
The price per pound for Impact Whey is $33. The price per pound for Optimum Nutrition is $52.
Keep in mind we're talking about black market prices here—if you're buying from a legitimate retailer, the gap is even wider.
So, tell me—am I really going to see some magical 5% boost in results if I switch to an Optimum Nutrition blend (where they don't even bother disclosing the isolate percentage) versus a pure concentrate from Myprotein (which lists its full label, lab analysis, and ingredient sourcing right on the site, all verified by third-party labs)?
Of course not. And even if there were a difference, your average gym rat wouldn't notice it anyway. The only real difference is that you'll have less money left in your wallet.
Fine then, tell me why it actually matters to someone like me—or any casual lifter out there—whether it’s a concentrate or an isolate.
So we're talking about absorption being five minutes faster? That's really the big debate? Paying an 80-100% markup just for that seems pretty snobby—and honestly, unnecessary.